Hear from the starts following the opening round of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450MX) “Like I said on the podium, we’re in a way better position than we were last year. Things were definitely not working out for us, especially coming in with an injury, but that’s all behind us. I can finally go out… I’m pretty happy with the bike and the way me and the team are working together. I can focus on my riding now. I think that makes a big difference. I’ve always done good at Hangtown for some reason, even though today was very different I would say. It was a lot harder [the soil] than it usually is. I think they did that because of possible rain coming in. It actually got pretty sketchy there in the second moto. Obviously it gets rough, but it was very notchy, very hard in certain spots that made it quite a bit different. It’s good to get that first one out of the way. It’s always kind of tough coming in here. We only have the one weekend off, but it is a new season and everybody’s points are put back to zero, and everyone has a new chance at another title. What I want to do for the whole season is I want to bring it to every single weekend. Last year, I played catch up all the time. We were in a bad place, where right now I feel like I can go from weekend to weekend. It’s progressing my riding and how I feel. It’s going to be a hard battle—it’s just the first race—and I’m super happy that I put myself in a good position. Like I said, long year and it’s going to be a lot of good racing.”
Ryan Dungey: (2nd in 450MX) “Yeah, I think it was overall really good. Two seconds is good, but at the same time when you look at the whole race—each of them. Kenny [Roczen] got away in the first one and we were able to maintain that gap. Even close it down which was good. Then, in the second moto he is really good when it’s choppy, slick and rough—kind of hard packed. So he was able to get right up the inside of me and I didn’t want to let that happen, but he made the pass. From there, he gapped me a little bit and I was like, “Alright, we gotta find our lines and figure this out.” I was able to kind of able to tow in there with that and again it [the gap] stayed the same and I was able to close it a little bit. It’s encouraging. We want to win for sure.”
Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450MX) “Overall, today went well. I was feeling really good after timed practice and heading into Moto 1 with first gate pick. My starts weren’t on point today as I started both motos mid-pack and had to work my way up through the field, but we learned a lot today and fourth place is a start that I can work with.”
Jason Anderson: (4th in 450MX) “Practice was good today. I got a bad start my first moto but then I had a great first half of the moto. I feel like I kind of got stuck at some point and couldn’t really keep it going. The second moto was really good, though. I got into third and stayed there for most of the moto and ended up third for fourth overall. It’s not horrible, but I definitely want to be better. I feel like my fitness is the best it has ever been and I’m riding better – I’m just trying to keep it going.”
Marvin Musquin: (8th in 450MX) “The first moto didn’t go as I wanted but we worked between the motos with the team and came out with good changes. I’m happy to finally race my first AMA 450 outdoor race and can’t wait to go to the next one! I know the season will be long and I want to keep improving.”
Josh Grant: (9th in 450MX) “Today was good. Felt good to get out here and ride two strong and consistent races. I feel like I’ve got more to offer but for it being the first round, I’m okay with leaving here in eighth. Looking forward to Glen Helen next weekend.”
Blake Baggett: (11th in 450MX) “Moto one went about as good as it could get, charging up from the back and working my way all the way back to a podium spot. I really felt good and thought everything was working. I went out in the second moto and got a decent start and was working my way through the pack. I think I needed one more spot to get a podium for the overall. And then I caught a rock and did a little high side. It was slo-mo, but I ended up going down pretty hard and breaking my collarbone. We’ll see where we’re at and be back to fight for sure. I know where I am right now. Hangtown is one of the gnarliest tracks there is and if you can go good there you can do it anywhere. So I’ll regroup and hopefully be back soon.”
Justin Bogle: (12th in 450MX) “Started off the day not so good, had a pretty hard crash in practice. Man! Came back and got ready, got a great start in the first moto and ran up front for a couple of laps. I started having some issues. I bumped my head in practice and I was having some trouble with that, things were getting a little blurry and stuff. Salvaged a twelfth, second moto was kind of the same situation, got a good start and salvaged an eleventh. But still a decent day because I was able to get out of Hangtown somewhat healthy—at least I’m able to race next weekend. This actually hasn’t happened for me out of Hangtown ever—I’ve never scored points here in both motos. So all in all, I’ll take it.”
James Stewart: (DNF in 450SX) “I had a decent practice, but got a horrible start in the first moto. I was just riding around trying to get comfortable. I came across the mechanic’s area and the next thing I know I was grabbing and hanging-on to my bike trying to hug-it. I went off this steep embankment and landed on my shoulder. I’m bummed. I keep putting-in all this work and things keep happening. I can’t quit. As hard as it is now I refuse to quit. I know I’m not done. I’m going to go back to work after I have my shoulder checked-out. I’ll see how I feel. Hopefully I can get back into action next week. I’ll be back, it’s just another setback.”
Joey Savatgy: (1st in 250MX) “Yeah, it was a good day. It went about as good as it can go. I was the fastest qualifier, holeshotted the first moto and led that wire-to-wire. I came out in the second moto, we were second off the start and I followed [Jessy] Nelson for quite a while. I got close enough, made a move and tried to bring it home. Yeah, 1-1 on the day, fastest qualifier and I got the red plate. All in all, I think it was a pretty picture-perfect day.” [Read our full interview with Savatgy]
Alex Martin: (2nd in 250MX) “I had a really rough Supercross season. We had bumps and bruises, and we were on the ground a lot. We made some big changes and I think it’s paying off now. I feel comfortable on the bike. My speed and intensity was there. My fitness is great. I felt really strong at the end of that moto—I think it showed. My starts could be a little bit better. I was up there on that [first second moto start] start, but then they red flagged it. It is what it is, but I was happy to come back and be up there. Second overall is awesome! I couldn’t ask to start in a better position.”
Aaron Plessinger: (4th in 250MX) “I’m feeling great! I could probably do thirty-minutes more. (laughs) No, it was good. Practice didn’t go so well. I got off to a bad start in the first moto and worked my way up to ninth. Then, in the second moto I got off to a really good start. I think I was like fifth or sixth. I latched onto Alex [Martin] and he pulled me up to third and he got second. It was a good race.”
Jordon Smith: (7th in 250MX) “My day went pretty good overall. I can only take positive away from it. Made some changes to my bike after practice—those guys killed it and the bike was great. Got a good start in the first moto, got up there and ran second the whole race. I felt good. Had another good one going in the second moto and…I ended up getting taken out. I just sort of struggled from there and finished sixteenth. I was running up front in both motos, had good starts and showed I had the speed, so I can just build on that.”
Austin Forkner: (8th in 250MX) “First moto I rode really tight in the first half of the race but near the end was able to calm my nerves and make a few passes to finish 13th. On the restart of Moto 2, my Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki launched me out of the gate and I came around turn one inside the top-five. I rode really strong for the first 20-25 minutes by pacing the leaders. After deciding to back it down, I crashed and ended the moto in eighth, but that’s definitely something I can build on. We learned a lot today and I had a blast.”
Triston Charboneau: (9th in 250MX) “Had a great first moto, went out and got a great start and followed the leaders around for awhile. I got sixth, and I tried to throw a few passes in there, but a rookie guy doesn’t really know how to make those passes yet! Second moto I had a terrible start and crashed, but they red flagged it and had a restart because someone was down. But I got another bad start, had to work my way up to 14th. Made a lot of progress today and I think I’ll be alright going forward.”
Christian Craig: (12th in 250MX) “Started off the day ninth in qualifying. I want to be up there so that wasn’t my best, for sure. I went into the motos confident, but I fell in the third corner of the first moto. Started dead last and worked my way up to fifteenth. Second moto I started mid pack and just tried to go forward. I got to seventh and went down. Had to just ride it out and I got eighth. Not my best—I’m looking for a lot more. Next weekend I need to get a better result and I’m confident I can get it.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (13th in 250MX) “In the first moto I crashed on the opening lap which set me back. From there it was all about salvaging a decent position. The second moto was better and I felt I rode well. Overall, I’m happy to have gotten through Round 1 safely and I’m looking forward to improve throughout the year. This is just a starting point.”
